The Perseids will be treating our planet and its inhabitants once again to an unforgettable scene this summer. If you don’t want to miss out on some spectacular shooting stars, mark your calendars for 12 August already.
Every year, from around mid-July to late August, we’re treated with a phenomenon called the Perseids, also known as the Perseid meteor shower. This series of shooting stars is caused by the fact that the Earth passes through bits of debris – including rock and ice – left behind by the Comet Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the Sun once and which last soared past our planet in 1992. Even though this occurs every year, the impressiveness of it greatly depends on the conditions. In peak years, one will be able to spot up to 160-200 meteors an hour and when the moon is absent, the phenomenon becomes all the more unforgettable.
In case you’re still wondering what exactly is a shooting star, they are actually meteors. Meteoroids (rocks in space) enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds and burn up. The fireballs they create are then called “shooting stars” or meteors. In case such a meteoroid actually survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.
“Perseids are also known for their fireballs. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. Fireballs are also brighter, with apparent magnitudes greater than -3”, according to NASA.
In 2024, the peak moment for the Perseids is set to take place in the night from 12 August to 13 August. Even though the moon will initially be 50% illuminated, it will set at midnight, just in time to watch the spectacular show take place in all darkness. However, if you can’t make it that night, don’t worry: the days before and after should see a rise in shooting stars too. If you want to have the best chance at spotting them, however, NASA recommends to look at the sky from the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours.
